IKEA already sells Bluetooth speakers that cost less than lunch, but the new Badkruka is aimed at a different job. It isn’t a pocket gadget for the beach. It’s a mains-powered cube meant to sit on a shelf, next to a TV or on a desk, and it went on sale in September 2026 at $59.99 in the US and €49.99 in Germany.
The name is part of the joke. In Swedish, badkruka describes someone who won’t swim outdoors, literally a “bath-coward”. The speaker lives up to it: there’s no battery and no talk of water resistance, just a power cord and a place in the living room.
A bigger sibling for the Kallsup
The Badkruka sits above IKEA’s tiny Kallsup, which What Hi-Fi? lists at £5 and Gizmodo at $10. Where the Kallsup is a colourful portable toy, the Badkruka is a plain box measuring 16 x 16 x 17.5 cm. The top cover is ABS plastic with at least 50% recycled content, and the base is polycarbonate. It comes in two finishes, black and pink.
What’s inside
According to What Hi-Fi?, the Badkruka puts out 25 watts in total, driving a tweeter and a woofer. IKEA promises a “clear, powerful sound” that “meets everyday needs at home” and puts the emphasis on a balanced midrange. Three EQ modes let you tune the sound to your taste.
The feature list is short but covers a lot for the money:
- Bluetooth for streaming from a phone, tablet or laptop
- Optical input, with an optical cable in the box, so the speaker can take sound straight from a TV or monitor
- 3.5mm auxiliary port for wired sources
- Spotify Tap button on the top panel, which resumes Spotify playback where you left off
- Physical controls for volume and media playback
- Stereo pairing: two Badkrukas can work as a left/right pair
- Multi-speaker mode for chaining several units, including other compatible IKEA speakers, for synced playback around the home
Why the optical port matters
Most cheap Bluetooth speakers only have a wireless connection, and some add a headphone-style aux jack. An optical input is rare at this price. It turns the Badkruka into a simple TV sound upgrade for a small bedroom or kitchen set, with no soundbar needed. Put two of them together in stereo and you have a basic 2.0 setup for about the price of an entry-level soundbar.
Price and availability
The IKEA Badkruka costs $59.99 on IKEA’s US store and €49.99 in Germany, where Notebookcheck reports it’s also in stock in physical stores. As of September 14, 2026, What Hi-Fi? had not yet seen it on IKEA’s UK website, and no UK price has been announced.
